


Losing Touch

by vulpinelucis (CanineKitten)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, FFXV kinkmeme, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Miscarriage, Panic Attacks, Rape Aftermath, Scenting, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, intersex omega
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-28 06:51:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14443743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineKitten/pseuds/vulpinelucis
Summary: This isn’t how it was supposed to go. One moment they were just a bunch of friends enjoying a road trip, the next they were in a living hell.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fill for this prompt on FFXV kinkmeme:
> 
> Stress causes omega!Noctis to unexpectedly go into heat. Alphas Gladio and Ignis don't trust themselves around him and leave him with only beta!Prompto to look after him. A random Alpha catches his scent, beats up Prompto, and mates Noctis.
> 
> \+ Prompto finger fucking Noct to get him to stop making pained mating calls.  
> \+ Noctis gets pregnant.  
> \+ Unspoken Bro/Noctis or OT4
> 
> Please no permanent claiming.

Noctis was not prepared for this. None of them were. What had caused his heat was anyone’s guess. Up until this point, he had been thought to be a defect omega. It had suited him just fine, to be honest. He had been satisfied with pretending to be a beta, which had made him much more likeable to the public. Omega’s were labeled as promiscuous and easy to lead, which wasn’t something a nation wanted of their prince. But now it appeared he wasn’t defect at all.

Ignis tried his best to explain it.

“It could just be that you’re a late bloomer, I suppose.”

He tried to appear calm, but his hands deceived him. He was obsessively folding and unfolding a paper tissue.

“I guess it’s good to get it out of the system,” Gladio said. “It must have built up now that it’s seven years overdue.”

“Good?” Noctis repeated, incredulous. “This is anything but _good_. It’s fucking _torture_.”

“Thank god you’re only stuck with it for half of your life,” Prompto chirped.

Noctis tried to shove him, but he was too far away and Noctis couldn’t be bothered to get out of his chair. 

They were gathered around the remains of last night’s campfire. Noctis had felt the signs of the oncoming heat already yesterday when they set up camp, but he’d just brushed it off thinking it was a cold. Then he woke up at an ungodly hour this morning, and it felt like he’d been run over by a freight train. In addition to every part of his body aching, he felt an uncomfortable, pulsing wetness in his, uh… lower parts. He also had a raging hard-on for no apparent reason. He had no clue what was going on, he was just confused and appalled at his own reactions. The others were already up, despite the fact that the sun had barely risen. Not even Ignis was normally up this early. 

Noctis had stumbled out of the tent, and found himself at the center of attention from his three friends, who looked at him as though they were getting ready to announce someone’s death. Noctis felt his stomach drop at the dreadful idea that even more people he cherished had died. But before he could say anything, Ignis spoke.

“Noct, how are you feeling?”

“Uh… Like shit…” He had closed the vest to hide the way his erection tented his pants (he had been unable to get it down as of yet, but hopefully an ice cold morning bath in the nearby creek would fix that), and crossed his arms tightly to keep it closed. “I think I’m coming down with something.”

“Excuse my rudeness,” Ignis said, and hesitated a second before he continued. “But are you going into heat?”

Noctis had laughed, but that was an hour ago now. In that time he’d had to concede to the facts. Two alpha’s couldn’t be wrong, and they both said Noctis was in heat. Well, it would certainly explain the horniness…

“Maybe it’s the stress,” Ignis mused now. He was speaking mostly to himself at this point. “Emotional trauma is known to provoke heats and ruts.”

“Can’t we just wait it out?” Prompto asked. “It doesn’t last for more than a couple of days, right?”

Gladio shrugged. “I guess we have no other choice.”

“No,” Ignis said. He got to his feet and walked to the edge of the haven, his back to them.

“No?” Gladio exchanged confused glances with Prompto and Noctis.

Ignis sighed. He lifted one arm and rubbed his temple with the tip of his fingers. “I’m afraid that I… I can’t stay here, Noct… with you. I can’t stay with you.”

Noctis forgot about hiding his erection. He leant forward and let his vest fall open. “Why?”

Ignis shook his head. “Do you have to ask?” His voice was tight, like he was speaking through his teeth.

Noctis looked to Gladio for clarification, but Gladio looked just as perplexed.

“What’s going on, Iggy?” Prompto asked and moved closer. He attempted to put a hand on Ignis’ shoulder, but Ignis flinched away.

“Not now…” He almost pleaded, his voice gruff.

Then it seemed to click in Gladio’s head. “Rut,” he said softly.

Oh, shit.

Even Noctis, the defect omega, understood what kind of trouble that entailed.

“When?” Gladio asked.

“I woke up from it this morning,” Ignis said. “That’s how I realized Noctis is in heat.”

“What a way to wake up,” Gladio grumbled under his breath. “How are you holdin’ up?”

“I can manage for now. But at some point I’m not gonna be able to…” He shrugged feebly.

Noctis knew that if Ignis came onto him, he wouldn’t be able to resist. He could feel it already, how he was inexplicably drawn to Ignis, how his eyes followed every minute movement he made, how Ignis’ scent seemed so much more inviting than normal. He found the scents of all his friends inviting, but right now Ignis’ was standing out as especially enticing. He suddenly became aware of the predicament in his pants again, and hurried to cover himself up.

“Then… what can we do?” he asked.

“It’s simple, really,” Ignis said. “I’ll have to leave.”

“But you can’t leave me!”

Ignis turned towards him. “I have to, Noct. It’s for your own good.”

“But… But what about…” Noctis didn’t know if it was the heat that made his insides twist at the idea that Ignis should leave him, but it didn’t matter. It hurt all the same.

“It’ll only be for a few days,” Ignis said. “You’ll be safe here, far away from people and in the protection of the haven.”

“And I’ll be here,” Prompto said, and squeezed Noctis’ shoulder.

Noctis still felt disappointed. He looked at Gladio, expecting him to speak up against this madness, but Gladio seemed lost in thought. He noticed Noctis’ gaze, and gave him an apologetic look.

“I need to go with him,” he said. “Or else he’ll just come back here when… Besides, if my rut is triggered too… Anyway… If I stay here, and Ignis comes back, it can turn ugly.”

Noctis shook his head. “So you’re leaving too?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Some shield you are,” Noctis said. He stood, uncaring about his obvious state of arousal. “And you…” He glared at Ignis. To his mortification he could feel tears gather in the corners of his eyes. Hormones. Crap.

He spun around and marched back to the tent where he curled up on his sleeping mat and proceeded to silently wallow in pain.

Ignis came into the tent before he left. He told Noctis to take precautions and drink and eat regularly, and to try to get as much sleep as he could, but Noctis just answered that if he wanted to make sure he was taken care of, then maybe he shouldn’t leave.

Ignis shut up after that. He left the tent with a weak goodbye that Noctis didn’t answer. Noctis listened to Gladio and Ignis saying goodbye to Prompto, and then silence settled over the haven. Noctis fell asleep after that, but he woke what felt like minutes later in a baking hot tent, bathing in sweat. His insides felt like they’d been twisted and pulled by a vicious, invisible force, and the place between his legs pulsed and felt almost painfully engorged. He was so wet he’d soiled his briefs.

He had never felt the need to touch himself there before. If he were horny, he’d touch his cock rather than trying to figure out how everything down there worked. Not that he hadn’t been curious and explored a bit, but the experience had mostly been painful and awkward.

He sobbed quietly into the pillow.

“Ignis…”

Shit… He didn’t know what to do. Ignis would know what to do. But he wasn’t there.

“Noct?”

Noctis startled at the soft voice coming from the tent opening.

“Are you okay?” Prompto asked.

Noctis was anything but okay, but he grumbled something that sounded like an affirmative anyway.

“I brought some water. Ignis told me you’d need it… I’ll just put it here.”

Noctis looked up from the tangle of blankets that he’d buried himself underneath once he was sure that Prompto had left. A bottle of water stood near the tent entrance. Noctis ignored it. He tried to go back to sleep, but he could only manage a few minutes of fitful rest before he woke up again, twisting and squirming, pressing his thighs together to create some friction.

He was holding off touching himself in consideration to Prompto, but as he slowly got more and more desperate, he was unable to resist.

‘I’ll be quiet,’ he thought, in order to rid himself of some of the guilt.

He jerked off and came almost immediately. He barely managed to choke down the surprised moan. It gave him only temporary relief. For a few minutes he was lulled back to sleep, but soon after he woke up again. This time he was just as horny, except his cock was still flaccid. His aching cunt begged for attention. Oh, god… He had swore he’d never touch himself there again, but now his hand moved down between his legs as though on its own accord. His fingers slid over thick, wet folds of flesh. Even as he fumbled, even as he remembered the discomfort from his last attempt at this, he was unable to stop. He probed with his fingers, reacting to an age-old instinct. This was where he needed relief. This was right. Yes…

Even though it was tight, he persisted and pushed two fingers inside. It felt so incredibly good. He was unable to stop the moan. He gasped as he probed with his fingers, curled them… Oh… God… He tried to spread his legs, but he was still wearing briefs and pants. He nearly tore them off with his free hand and spread his legs wide. His fingers trembled as he shoved them in deeper. He keened, his back arched, he threw his head back, and came dry. His cunt pulsed around his fingers, desperately trying to close around the knot that wasn’t there. He sobbed and curled up on his side, and then he fell asleep again.

 

\----

 

The next time Prompto came to check on him, Noctis’ fingers were buried deep inside his cunt and he was kneeling on the sleeping mat, his forehead plastered to the sweat-slicked surface. From this angle he didn’t come so fast, and if he managed to control himself a bit, he could draw it out so that the orgasm became more satisfying, which meant it took a little longer before he needed to get off again.

“Noct…?” Prompto didn’t open the tent this time.

“Go away!” Noctis snapped.

Prompto backed away immediately. Noctis wasn’t even sure how much time had passed anymore. He was vaguely aware that he’d fallen asleep again, but the line between wakefulness and sleep felt strangely blurred. Sometimes he didn’t know if he dreamt that he screamed hoarsely as he came, twitching around four of his own fingers, or if it was real that Prompto was there, holding him and trying to soothe him as he trashed around and cried so that his throat felt raw. He was sure that the simpering, pathetic wailing that he heard had to come from somewhere else… some wounded animal or something, but in a lucid moment he realized the sounds came from himself. He became aware that Prompto really was there with him, holding Noctis’ head in his lap and leaning over him, his arm extended and his fingers…

Noctis gasped.

Prompto was fingering him.

“It’s okay,” he heard Prompto murmur. “I’ve got you.”

A tiny little part of Noctis felt instantly ashamed about the state he was in. The rest of him couldn’t care less. He ground his hips into Prompto’s hand and relished in the fullness and the strange and wonderful feeling of being stimulated by fingers that weren’t his own. Prompto was good at it. Noctis knew that he’d had sex before, unlike Noctis. Knew that he was experienced with women, from omega’s to beta’s to alpha’s. He knew exactly what he was doing. He kept Noctis on the edge, pulled back, let Noctis wind down a bit, and then worked him up again. Noctis was begging at the end of it, but the strange, simpering noises had stopped coming from him. When he finally came, it felt like his whole body tensed and clamped around that special spot that Prompto’s fingertips lavished with attention, and then he felt blissfully relaxed, almost like he was floating. He fell asleep again with his head in Prompto’s lap.

 

\-----

 

Gladio kept sending Prompto pictures with updates on how Ignis was doing. The last one was of a very disgruntled Ignis frowning up at the camera from the bed he was leaning back on. They were in a room at the Leville, by the looks of it. “Grumpy, but holdin’ up,” read the caption. Prompto couldn’t exactly do the same with Noctis. What would the caption be? ‘Horny as hell and scaring away the local wildlife with the inhuman noises he’s making’? Not exactly catchy. Prompto just sent back a message saying Noctis was restless but otherwise fine. He didn’t want to entice Ignis’ mothering instincts enough for him to come back here, but the truth was that Prompto was at his wits end. It had been bad enough when Noctis stopped caring enough to try and hide his moans, but these weird, high-pitched sounds he was making now were even worse.

Prompto paced back and forth, uncertain what to do. There was no internet connection so far out in the wilderness, so he couldn’t just look up what these sounds meant, and there was no way he was leaving Noctis, but he had a feeling that it was a good idea to make him stop. They didn’t exactly need to draw attention to themselves right now.

Prompto remembered what Ignis had said right before he and Gladio left. He’d led Prompto over to the cooking station to show him what kind of food he should try and make Noctis eat to alleviate his frustration and replenish his energy, but the real reason he led Prompto there was something else entirely. He had leant closer to Prompto and asked him straight out how close he and Noctis really were. Prompto had blushed and stammered, which gave Ignis exactly the answer he needed.

“We’ve just fooled around a bit,” Prompto admitted.

“The reason I’m asking isn’t to put you on the spot. Since you’ll be the one to take care of him, you need to be prepared to share some… intimate moments.”

Prompto felt even his ears turn red.

“I’m not saying you need to become… physical,” Ignis said, “but if it feels right it’d certainly help.”

“A-are you saying I should…?”

“Use your imagination. Do what feels right. But be aware that he’s not himself. It’s probably best to err on the safe side and make it as impersonal as possible.”

Prompto twisted his phone in his hand. Noctis had cried himself hoarse. He couldn’t listen to this any longer. He strode into the tent, closed it decisively behind himself, and crawled closer to the lump of blankets that was Noctis. The blanket-lump shuddered and whimpered. Prompto wasn’t even sure if his presence had been noticed.

“Noct…?”

No reaction. At least he wasn’t being chased away. That had to count for something.

“Noct…”

He peeled away layer after layer of blankets. Noctis had to be cooking under there. The tent was like a greenhouse in the midday heat. Finally a tuft of sweaty, black hair was uncovered, and then a pink, sweaty face underneath it.

“Noctis… Can you hear me?”

Well aware of what he’d see, the naked body of his best friend, he pulled the pile of blankets away from Noctis. Noctis was still wearing his shirt and west, but his lower body was naked. Prompto tried not to stare as he sat Noctis up and helped him out of his sweat-soaked clothes. Then he allowed Noctis to curl up with his head on his lap. He ran his fingers through Noctis’ hair, and waited. Noctis whimpered softly and twitched at times. Prompto reached for the bottle of water, and tilted Noctis’ head up so that he could soak his lips with some of the water. Noctis opened his mouth and gulped down mouthfuls of the warm water. After that he slept a little calmer. Prompto reached over and opened the entrance to the tent. It was so inhumanly hot in there. It couldn’t be healthy for Noct. What if he overheated? There was a gentle breeze outside…Maybe if they moved a bit closer to the opening. There was barely a living creature for miles around, much less any people, so there was no need to uphold any decorum. Prompto dragged Noctis closer to the entrance. Noctis slept the entire time.

Prompto placed Noctis’ head on his lap again. He ran his fingers through his friends’ hair and thought about how it felt to kiss Noctis. They had kissed before, but never… They’d never gone further than that.

After a while Noctis stirred.

“Prompto,” he murmured. He fumbled at his own crotch, briefly caressing his cock, before slipping his hand further down between his legs. He grabbed one of Prompto’s wrists with his free hand. “Prom…”

He tried to lead Prompto’s hand down along his body, but Prompto resisted.

“Wait… Noct… It’s not a good idea…”

Prompto wasn’t sure if Noctis was entirely aware of what he was doing, or even if he was aware of where he was. His eyes were closed, like he was still asleep. He whined and squirmed. Then he turned his head and nosed Prompto’s crotch. Prompto yelped and grabbed Noctis’ shoulders in an attempt to push him away. Noctis looked up at Prompto under lowered lids. It was like he saw Prompto for the first time. There was an insistent glow burning in the depth of his blue eyes. He raised himself up on his hands and suddenly he was in Prompto’s face, his lips pressing sloppily to Prompto’s. Prompto froze. The kiss grew insistent. Noctis slipped into Prompto’s lap and rocked his hips down onto his growing erection. He fumbled with Prompto’s pants, tried to open them, but Prompto had managed to regain some rational thought, and grabbed Noctis' hands.

“No…” he panted. “No, I… Please, Noct… Don’t…”

Noctis squirmed in Prompto’s lap, but didn’t try to get out of Prompto’s grip. Prompto weighted his options. Noctis seemed aware enough, and Ignis had said it could come to this. And Noctis seemed to really, honestly want it. He’d said Prompto’s name. 

No….

No, he couldn’t. Not with Noctis like this. How did he even start…?

“Noct… Listen…”

Noctis had started kissing Prompto’s cheek and neck. He looked up at Prompto, attentive.

“Listen… Lie down, will you? Like that, yes…”

It was strange to see Noctis so compliant. He laid down, placed his head on Prompto’s thigh, and looked expectantly up at him.

“Okay, just… Just lie there, like that, and… uh… maybe you want something to eat? I can get you something to eat.”

He tried to get up, but Noctis grabbed his waist and held him down. His eyes were round with worry.

“I’m just gonna go over there,” Prompto said and pointed towards the cooking station, which was well within eyesight on the other side of the camp. Noctis reluctantly let go of him. He watched Prompto the entire time, until he came back to him with some fruit. Noctis just sniffed at it and frowned.

“Come on,” Prompto goaded. “Ignis said you need the energy.”

Noctis took one bite from an apple after a lot of prodding, but after that the apple was forgotten and Prompto was once again the more tempting treat. Noctis tried to climb onto Prompto’s lap again, but Prompto didn’t let him. Reluctantly he conceded to lie with his head on Prompto’s thigh, without touching him. It seemed to work out for a while, until Noctis started panting and squirming. He curled in on himself and rubbed his thighs together. Then the noises started. First softly, not more than a whimper, then it slowly got worse and worse. Prompto looked around in fear of seeing someone nearby who could have heard the noises, but the landscape was as deserted as before. 

“Shhh… Please, Noct…” he said. “Please, I… I don’t know what to do…” He ran his fingers through Noctis’ hair. “What do you need me to do? I’ll do anything…”

Noctis grabbed Prompto’s hand. He kissed his palm, and then he lead it down along his chest and down to his stomach. Noctis eyelids lowered and his legs spread as Prompto’s hand went lower. Prompto allowed himself to look. With his heart in his throat, he thought that this was most probably the only time he’d see Noctis like this. Hips gyrating, cock lying flushed against his stomach, back arching. Noctis guided Prompto’s hand down between his legs. He shuddered from pleasure when Prompto’s fingers pushed in between the wet folds of his pussy.

“Oh god…” Prompto felt the hot, slick flesh tighten around his fingers.

Noctis groaned and rocked his hips. He still made some of those simpering noises in the back of his throat, but slowly they died down as Prompto started fucking him with his fingers.

Noctis gasped.

“It’s okay,” Prompto murmured. “I’ve got you.”

 

\-----

 

Prompto slid his arm around Noctis’ waist and nuzzled the back of his neck. He realized it was starting to get dark outside. The whole day had passed, and still Noctis’ heat had not let up in the least. Noctis was fast asleep after what had to be his tenth orgasm, and Prompto was about to follow suit when a deep voice interrupted the silence.

“You’re not doing him any favors like that.”

Prompto startled. He looked up through the opening of the tent, up, up, and further up, to the face of the man standing right outside the tent. Prompto took in his looks with rising dread. Piercing black eyes. Shaggy-looking, longish hair held back by a piece of dark red fabric tied around his head. A huge broadsword on his back…

Prompto swallowed thickly. This guy had somehow managed to sneak up on them without him noticing.

“This doesn’t concern you,” he said and tried to sound firmer than he felt. “Get lost.”

He had a bad feeling about this guy. He grabbed a blanket without taking his eyes from the man, and covered Noctis with it.

The man sniffed the air and threw a lazy look around the camp. “Where’s the alpha’s?”

“Hunting. Should be back any minute.”

“Hm… Getting pretty late, though. I doubt they’d chance travelling back after dark.”

“Why would they leave an omega in heat out here unprotected?” Prompto scoffed, though he couldn’t stop his voice from shaking a bit.

Shit… This whole thing had been a bad, bad idea. It was a thousand times better that Ignis had been here, no matter what that entailed, than a stranger who couldn’t care less about Noctis’ wellbeing.

“Beats me,” the stranger said. His cold eyes seemed to measure Prompto.

Prompto moved slowly into a kneeling position. “I think it’s best if you leave now,” he said.

“Listen, pipsqueak,” the man said. “If you scamper off for a while, I’ll take care of that omega for you.”

Prompto shuddered. “I don’t think so.”

He lifted his hand and his gun materialized in it immediately. The stranger hadn’t anticipated it. His eyes widened a fraction.

“Get. Lost,” Prompto said. He’d never shot a person before, and he didn’t like the thought of doing it. His hand shook slightly, but he hoped the stranger hadn’t noticed. Hopefully he’d be intimidated enough to leave.

To Prompto’s despair, the man held his ground. He barely seemed affected at all by the weapon aimed at him.

“Is that really how you want to play it?”

“I just want you to leave,” Prompto bit out.

The stranger unsheathed his sword and held it in front of him. Prompto knew that if he was going to act, he needed to do it now, but he hesitated. Then the stranger lunged forward, surprisingly fast for such a large man, and Prompto fired without thinking. His bullet hit the blade of the sword and ricocheted through the tent wall. The man had knocked the gun out of Prompto’s hand before he could fire again. Certain that he’d face death any second, Prompto raised his hands as if in a vain hope that he’d manage to parry a blow from that sword. But no blow came. Instead he was grabbed by the front of his shirt and yanked out of the tent and down on the ground. The man pressed his knee between Prompto’s shoulder blades to keep him down. Then he tied Prompto’s hands together behind his back with an itchy, thin rope that dug into his wrists.

“Don’t move,” the man ordered gruffly.

Prompto groaned when the weight on his back finally left and he could breathe properly again. He tested the ropes but they were expertly tied. He wriggled and kicked in an attempt to turn around.

“Get your hands off him!” He screamed when the man reached into the tent and dragged Noctis out by his feet. Noctis was too befuddled to put up much of a fight. He seemed only halfway aware of what was happening. He wriggled and trashed a bit, but didn’t put any real fight into it.

Prompto realized with a heavy, sinking feeling in his stomach, that he had failed. He’d had a shot at the man. He could have killed him and saved Noctis, but he had hesitated, and look where that had gotten them.

“No, no, no,” Noctis kept repeating over and over again, as the stranger’s hands palmed his body.

Prompto managed to get to his knees. He tried desperately to think of something else he could pull from the armiger, but anything that he could use he’d use poorly with his hands tied behind his back, and he couldn’t risk hitting Noct too.

“Get off him!!” Prompto yelled again. He staggered to his feet and barged into the man, almost knocking him over.

“You little…” the man hissed.

He tried to grab Prompto, but since he had landed on his back, he had his legs free, and he managed to land a kick against the man’s shoulder. The man grabbed his legs instead, and hauled him away from the tent. He tied him to one of the metal legs of the cooking station and pressed a stale piece of fabric into his mouth. Prompto tried to spit it out, but it was balled up and lodged too deep into his mouth. He trashed and fought against his bindings, but they were tied well.

Prompto heard soft whimpering. He looked over and saw to his surprise that the stranger was trying to soothe Noctis. He pulled him into his lap and bared his neck for him. Noctis pressed his face to the stranger’s scent glands, and it seemed to calm him. They sat like that for a moment. Prompto watched them warily. Then the stranger put his hand between Noctis legs, and pushed his fingers up and into him. Prompto tried to shout at him to stop, but the gag drowned his voice. The man seemed satisfied because he immediately opened his pants, pushed Noctis onto the ground before him, and ordered him to get into position.

Noctis seemed confused. He kneeled in front of the man, and gazed up at him.

The man threw a look over at Prompto.

“He’s not had a heat before, has he?” he asked.

Prompto just glowered at him.

“Turn around,” the stranger instructed Noctis. “Kneel… and bend forward.”

Noctis was turned around. He resisted when a big palm was pressed to his shoulder blades, but he had to bend. The stranger pressed Noctis’ legs further apart, and then his hand ran up the back of Noctis’ thigh and touched his pussy. Noctis whimpered. He could have tried to escape, he wasn’t being held back, but he didn’t seem to consider the chance to freedom. He most probably wouldn’t have gotten far, even if he had tried.

Prompto trashed again as the stranger positioned himself behind Noctis, aligned his heavy, flushed cock with Noctis’ pussy, and pushed in. Neither of them took note of the way Prompto desperately pulled on his restraints. The cooking station was too heavy for him to move on the uneven rock surface with the way he was fastened to it, but he didn’t stop trying. Even though he felt the bindings cut into his skin, felt blood run into his palms, he didn’t stop struggling, because stopping meant he had to watch, had to listen, and he couldn’t… he didn’t want to… couldn’t watch Noct like that…

Prompto cried out but his cry was muffled and couldn’t drown out Noctis’ helpless moans, and his trashing couldn’t shield him from the sight that seemed to inevitably get burned into his retina. Noctis, bent over on all four, getting fucked relentlessly but seemingly not too roughly (a strange, detached part of his mind found that to be a small relief). The more he tried to resist watching, the more difficult it was to ignore what was right in front of him.

Noctis came fast and with a miserable whimper. The stranger thrust into him faster until he curled over Noctis back with a guttural groan. Noctis stood shakily on hands and knees, helplessly trying to brace himself. He grunted softly and tilted his head so that Prompto could see half of his face, which before had been hidden behind his hair. His brow was pinched and his eyes were closed. His breath hitched and then he made a pained yelp and tried to get out of the strangers hold, but the stranger seemed to have anticipated it and held him back. Noctis started to fight. 

Prompto, who had watched all this without being able to look away, as one might watch a car crash in horror and know that whether he watched or not, it was still happening, started trashing even harder against his restraints than before. He felt the rope dig into his bleeding wrists, but didn’t care about the pain. The tried to scream and curse out the stranger, but the cloth was threatening to choke him. He fell back against the leg of the cooking station, in pain from the awkward position and the way he’d pulled at his shoulders, but barely feeling it.

He kept repeating Noctis’ name, but it only sounded like muffled whines.

‘Please, please,’ he wished he could say. ‘Please stop, I’ll do anything. Just please stop hurting him…’

Noctis had calmed down. His arms had collapsed and his cheek was lying pressed against the hard, cold ground, but his hips were held up where he and the stranger were joined. They must have formed a knot… That would have been what had scared Noctis so. He, to Prompto’s knowledge, had never experienced it before.

The stranger sat down and collected Noctis in his lap.

“That’s better,” he panted against his cheek, loud enough for Prompto to hear from his position on the other side of the campfire.

Noctis was almost limp in the strangers grip. It hurt Prompto even more to see that, than what he’d witnessed just minutes earlier. He whimpered and struggled faintly in his binds in a vain attempt to get the strangers attention, but he was ignored like he wasn’t even there. Suddenly Noctis came to life again. His back arched, his eyes opened a bit, his mouth opened into an o. He groaned and his brows pinched. The stranger rolled his hips slowly, even when Noctis tried to speed up the pace. He just held his hips steady, and rocked and rocked until Noctis’ nails were digging into his underarms, and his whole body arched like a drawn bow. And then he came dry with a groan that sounded like it was wrenched from the pit of his very being. It was a sound of pure ecstasy. Only when Noctis came did the stranger increase the pace until he was clenching Noctis tight and came inside of him with a guttural groan.

After a while, the two untangled. The stranger pulled a sleeping mat out from the tent, and laid Noctis down on it. Noctis slept, by the looks of it. Prompto begged for it to be over. ‘Leave,’ he thought insistently, staring at the man. ‘Leave, get the fuck away from here!’ But the man didn’t leave. When Noctis stirred again, by which time Prompto had started to doze off, the whole process started over again.

Prompto didn’t have count on how many times he had to see Noctis get violated again and again until the stranger had finally had his fill. By the time the stranger started getting dressed, it had become dawn. Prompto lay as limp and useless on the ground as Noctis did. He desperately wanted to go over to him, to touch him and hold him and take all of this away…. He couldn’t stop watching him. In his exhaustion he was certain that if he looked away for a second, something awful would happen

The stranger buttoned up his pants and strapped his broadsword to his back. He didn’t even throw a glance at Noctis as he walked past him. Prompto suddenly got renewed strength. Although his throat was hoarse, he sputtered curses after the man, but they were intelligible because of the gag. The man didn’t show the slightest sign that he’d heard him. He passed him and disappeared into the morning mist just as quietly as he arrived, leaving an eerie silence behind him.

Prompto wanted to sob, but he couldn’t because it’d just make snot flow, and then he’d probably choke. He blinked away tears and tried in vain to call for Noctis. He didn’t know how long he sat there and made sore, helpless noises, but at last he must have fallen asleep, because suddenly he opened his eyes and the sun was up and his hands were free, and the rag had been taken out of his mouth. His entire body was aching and his throat was sore.

He scrambled to his feet, stumbled, and straightened shakily. He had huge, aching, red welts crusted with dried blood around his wrists and his shoulders ached, but the only thing on his mind was to find Noctis.

“Noct? Noct! Where are you? Noct!”

He couldn’t have been kidnapped while Prompto was out cold… could he? Prompto checked the tent. At first he thought it was empty, but on a second glance, he realized there seemed to be someone under the huge pile of blankets. He crawled closer and nudged the blankets aside. It gave him flashbacks to yesterday, when this… all this… hadn’t happened. How he wished he could go back to that day and just shoot the stranger while he had the chance.

He pulled the blankets away from Noctis’ face, suddenly afraid of what he’d find, but Noctis looked exactly like usual. He groaned and turned away.

“Noct…!” Prompto was so relieved he could have wept. “Noct, you’re okay…”

And then he realized that Noctis must be anything but okay.

“Noct… Hey, are you awake?”

Noctis snuggled deeper into the blanket-pile.

“Um… Do you need anything?” Prompto suddenly didn’t know what to do. What should he say?

Noctis didn’t answer.

“Well… Okay… I’ll just…” Prompto looked around the tent. He needed to contact Ignis and Gladio. They’d know what to do. Where was his phone? It turned out he’d dropped it next to the campfire at some point. He picked it up. He had a bunch of messages and five missed calls from Gladio.

08.51: “Hey, you guys doin’ okay?”

09.01: “I hope you aren’t using the opportunity to laze around…”

09.29: “Prom, you should be up by now >:/”

09.45: “Are you guys okay? Call me back as soon as you can.”

09.58: “Why the fuck aren’t you answering my calls?!”

10.09: “Okay, that’s it. I’m coming over.”

The last message was sent fifteen minutes ago. Gladio would be there any minute now, and Prompto didn’t know how to explain the situation to him over the phone. He’d have to wait till he arrived. As he waited, he nervously paced back and forth. Should he get Noct some water? But he seemed like he didn’t want to be disturbed… Maybe he should tidy up a bit so it didn’t look like… look like… He felt dizzy all of a sudden. Gladio needed to arrive soon, because he didn’t know what to do…

He really didn’t know what to do…

 


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys try their best to deal with the aftermath of the trauma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part goes into some dark places, but there's a hopeful ending.

When Gladio arrived ten minutes later, he found Prompto hunched over in one of the chairs, his face buried in his hands.

Gladio noticed the scent of a different alpha immediately, and feared the worst.

“Where is Noct?” he barked.

Prompto jumped up from the chair. He looked as white as a sheet where he stood.

“In the tent.”

Gladio ducked into the tent, ascertained that Noctis was there and seemingly asleep, before he went back out and turned to Prompto.

“What happened?” he said, maybe a bit sharply, because Prompto flinched.

He was standing with his arms tightly wrapped around himself. It didn’t look like he would be able to answer, so Gladio had to ask outright.

“Did that alpha who was here… Did they mate Noct?”

Prompto’s bottom lip quivered. He nodded.

Gladio cursed.

“I’m so sorry,” Prompto sobbed.

“Shit… Prompto, it wasn’t your fault.”

Gladio tried to keep the tension out of his voice, but it was difficult. He could see that Prompto needed assurance but he couldn’t help but feel enraged. Not at Prompto, but at the alpha that had been there, and at himself for having left Noctis and Prompto alone.

“I think it’s best if we left this place,” Gladio said. He crawled into the tent again. “Noct? Noct, I think it’s about time we leave. Are you ready to get up?”

Not a sound came from Noctis, not even the slightest stir. Gladio put a hand under the blanket-pile to rouse him.

“Don’t touch me!”

The cry was like the snap of a whip. Gladio pulled back.

“Fuck… Noct, it’s me for goddamn sake.”

This whole situation was not something he knew how to handle. He sorely needed Ignis’ calmness and tact, but sadly he wouldn’t get his help for at least another day. He knew he couldn’t deal with the situation the way he usually did; by brute force. It would only make things worse. He didn’t know how to reach in to Noctis, and he was pretty sure that Prompto would be even less of a help.

Somehow he managed to slowly but surely coax Noctis out from underneath the pile of blankets. He was fully clothed under there. Judging by his scent, he had tried to wash off, but the scent of the other alpha still clung to his skin. It made Gladio’s blood boil with anger. To his relief he noted that Noctis at least hadn’t been marked, so that was one less problem to worry about. It was a small mercy, though.

After even more persuasion, Gladio finally managed to convince Noctis to come out of the tent. Prompto had been standing outside the entire time. The poor kid still looked traumatized. He watched Noctis with wide, scared eyes like he was afraid he was some sort of apparition that’d vanish if he as much as blinked. Noctis hunched his shoulders like he was trying to actually disappear from sight, and stood stock still in the middle of camp where Gladio left him. He blinked in the bright daylight and looked unusually small and vulnerable where he stood.

“Noct,” Prompto said, but Noctis turned away from him.

Since Gladio had no idea what to say or how to soothe them, he did what he was most comfortable with, and busied himself with packing up. He could see that Noctis was getting unwell from just being in the vicinity of where it had happened, so he hurried as much as he could, and then he herded the two men in front of him back to the Regalia. Noctis took his usual seat and sunk as far down into it as he could. Prompto hesitated before getting into the front passenger seat. He kept throwing Noctis glances over his shoulder the entire ride. Gladio kept and eye on Noctis in the mirror, but he could barely see more of him than a few tufts of black hair.

Before he left that morning, Gladio had left a note with Ignis telling him he was just going for a run. He hadn’t wanted Ignis to worry unnecessarily. He was still not through with his rut, and if he saw Noctis and caught the faint scent that still clung to him, there was no telling what he’d do in some mad frenzy to avenge Noctis. In other words, Gladio couldn’t introduce Noctis and Ignis yet. When they arrived at The Leville, he ordered a twin room for Prompto and Noctis, and told them that it was best if they didn’t see Ignis until the next day. They seemed to understand. Prompto, at least, nodded. Noctis just shoved past Gladio into the room and flopped down on the bed in typical Noctis style. It annoyed Gladio enough to make him feel like at least some appearance of normalcy was regained.

The rest of that day passed at a snails pace. Noctis refused to get out of bed. He refused to eat. If Gladio hadn’t managed to convince him to drink he wouldn’t have done that either. Prompto sat on the other bed and looked down at his tightly clenched hands. Gladio realized that he hadn’t looked at his wounds yet.

“Hey, Prom… Those welts look bad.”

Prompto stared at him with a slightly lost expression.

“Oh… Oh, those… They’re fine, it’s okay…”

They looked anything but fine.

“Let me look at them.” Gladio reached out and took Prompto’s hands. “They need to be cleaned.”

Prompto pulled his hands back. “I – I’ll do it.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Gladio tried to grab his hands again. “I’ll help you.”

“No!”

Prompto backed away from Gladio. Gladio put his hands up.

“Okay, okay… I’ll get you something from Ignis’ first aid kit.”

 

\-----

 

When Ignis woke up and finally felt more like himself again, the sun was already high up in the sky. He sat up in the bed and stretched. Gladio sat on the bed opposite him with his elbows on his knees and looked emptily into thin air.

“Gladio?”

“Hm?” Gladio stared at Ignis like he noticed him for the first time. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better,” Ignis said. He stood and went to the bathroom to take a long, nice shower.

When he had dressed and came back into the bedroom, Gladio was still sitting in the same place, and he still had that strange, lost expression on his face.

“Is something the matter?” Ignis asked.

Gladio looked extremely uncomfortable. “Uh, Iggy… There’s something I need to tell you.”

Ignis frowned. “What?”

He didn’t want to admit it, but Gladio’s unusual behavior was making him nervous.

“Uh…” Gladio stood. He dried his hands on his pants. “It’s… It’s Noct.”

Ignis was on high alert immediately. “Is he hurt? Where is he?”

He was already on his way to the door.

“Wait,” Gladio said. “He’s fine at the moment… at least physically.”

A bad, bad premonition came over Ignis.

“What is it?” He snapped. “Spit it out!”

“He was raped,” Gladio blurted out.

To Ignis it felt like he’d been slapped in the face. “… What?” he whispered weakly.

“He… after we left, they… an alpha came over them…”

Ignis could hear the same anguish in Gladio’s voice as he himself felt in that moment. They had left Noctis and Prompto, putting them in a vulnerable situation. It was their fault. No… No, it was his fault, Ignis thought. His fault alone. He had been the one to insist that they needed to separate.

“Good god,” he whispered. “And he… Did they… consummate?”

Ignis’ lip curled. He was unable to even think about the person who did this to Noctis.

Gladio nodded, his face grim.

So they’d knotted.

“Markings?”

“No.”

Well, thank god for that, at least.

“Where is Noct now?”

“I rented another room for him and Prompto. They’ve been here since yesterday.”

Ignis bristled at that. “It happened a day ago? Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“You know why,” Gladio muttered. “You wouldn’t have been much help to Noctis. Most probably you’d just have made it worse.”

The words stung, but Ignis had to admit that Gladio was right. He would just have become mindless with anger, and if he couldn’t get ahold of the offending alpha, then he would probably just have hovered around Noctis. Now he had enough presence of mind to at least know how to act in accordance to what Noctis needed.

“Show me to him,” he told Gladio.

Gladio showed him the room. It was only a few doors down the same hallway. Prompto stood from a chair by the window the second Ignis opened the door. When he saw Ignis, he became even paler than he already was, and nervously pulled at the band around his wrist. Ignis noticed the bandages around his wrists, but didn’t ask. Not yet. But he could imagine what had happened to him.

“Where is Noct?” He asked calmly.

“In the bathroom.”

“Has he been there long?”

“A while…”

Ignis knocked on the door. “Noct?”

No answer.

“Noct… Please, give me a sign you can hear me.”

Something hit the door from inside the bathroom. Ignis took that as a good sign.

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” he said. “Unless you want me to leave?”

Again no answer, but Ignis took it as an affirmative.

Ignis turned to Prompto and asked in a low voice how Noctis had been doing. Prompto absently rubbed his arms. It was obvious that he too had been deeply marred by what happened. Ignis sat him down on one of the beds, and sat down next to him. Gladio remained lurking by the door, looking uncomfortable.

“Prompto… I know this must be difficult for you. I don’t know what you saw, but…”

He felt Prompto flinch a bit. So he’d seen enough…

Ignis gaze fell on his bandaged wrists again.

“Just know that you can talk to me or Gladio. You don’t need hold in anything.”

Ignis rubbed Prompto’s back gently. He almost felt how some of the tension left Prompto at the soothing touch. Hesitantly, Prompto leant closer, and Ignis offered his shoulder for Prompto to lean on. Prompto started shaking. Ignis rubbed his back and nuzzled the top of his head.

“I’m sorry,” Prompto whispered.

“Sorry? For what?”

“For… for… I should have…” Prompto tried to talk through sobs. “I should have p-protected him.”

Ignis felt a cold jolt in his gut.

“Prompto, it wasn’t your fault,” he said. “It wasn’t, not at all. No one could have…”

Ignis held Prompto’s cheeks and looked into his eyes. Prompto tried to look away but reluctantly met Ignis’ gaze.

“Listen,” Ignis said. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have insisted that it was best to leave the two of you. No one expected you to keep watch all the time. We thought you were safe out there, and so did you. And you would have been safe if it hadn’t been for that… that…”

Ignis bit his teeth together and took a deep breath.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he continued. “You had no blame in this.”

“B-but I could have shot him,” Prompto blubbered. “He was right in front of me, I had him in my aim. I just needed to pull the trigger, but I h-hesitated, a-and then… I-I…”

“Shh… Prompto, calm down. It’s okay. You did what you could.”

“B-but if it were you or Gladio… You wouldn’t have hesitated.”

“Killing a person isn’t something I’d do easily,” Gladio said. “It hasn’t come to it yet, and I hope it doesn’t either. I might have reacted just the same way in your situation.”

Prompto gave him a disbelieving look.

“It’s true,” Ignis said. “I’ve heard others who’ve been in battle with people say that it’s the most difficult thing, to take a human life. For some it gets easier with time, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

Prompto calmed down a bit after that. He dried his tears, but he still looked miserable. All three of them were still in the room when Noctis came out of the bathroom. He looked around at them, his face expressionless.

“Is there a fucking meeting in here?”

Ignis stood. “We didn’t mean to crowd you. Do you want us to leave?”

Suddenly Noctis looked vulnerable and tired.

“No, I…”

Ignis carefully moved closer to him.

“Just tell us what you need. We’ll gladly help, you know that.”

Noctis nodded.

“I don’t know what I need…” he whispered. His voice broke.

“Noct, it’s okay, just take your time. We’ll wait.”

Ignis put a hand on Noctis’ back.

Noctis flinched. “D-don’t.” 

Ignis pulled back.

“Do you want to lie down?”

Noctis nodded. He lay down on the bed and Ignis tucked him in.

“Should I get you something? Water? Something to eat?”

“Some water, maybe…”

Ignis turned to Prompto. “What about you? Do you need anything?”

Prompto stood.

“I’ll come with you. I think I need some air.”

Gladio followed them outside.

“You’re a magician,” he muttered once the door was closed. “It took me half an hour to get him to drink a sip of water.”

Ignis gave him a bleak smile. Gladio remained outside the door, and Prompto and Ignis walked down the hall in silence.

 

\-----

 

The days passed slowly. Over the next few weeks, Prompto couldn’t help but notice how dulled Noctis’ eyes seemed, how he moved almost sluggishly, like he was trapped under water, and how he often seemed unaware of his surroundings. For the most part, he slept. Ignis, Gladio and Prompto had to do hunts in order to make ends meet. They could barely afford the hotel room, but when Gladio mentioned camping, Noctis’ face became ashen, so they didn’t mention it again. Without Noctis knowing, they stopped renting the other twin room, and Gladio and Prompto or Ignis would make camp during the night while the two others stayed at the hotel.

After almost two weeks, Noctis finally joined them on the hunts again, and they started sleeping in caravans, but he was insufferable to be with. He was snappish and moody. One moment he could seem fine, albeit quiet, the next he got pissed off because of some strange little detail, like Prompto tapping his foot, or Ignis asking if he wanted something to eat.

It was difficult to be patient with him. Prompto often saw Gladio visibly hold himself back from snapping at Noctis. For Prompto’s part it was enough to remember what had happened to him, and he instantly forgave his behavior.

Prompto often caught Noctis glancing at the healing wounds on his wrists. The look on his face was so painful for Prompto to watch, that he had to look away. He remembered it too, every time he looked at his arms. Sometimes he dreamt about it, and woke up drenched in sweat with Noctis’ name on the tip of his tongue. Those times it always took him a while to realize where he was, and that it was over. It was over, nothing to be afraid of anymore. He had to remind himself of that, again and again.

It was over. It was okay.

Except it wasn’t. It wasn’t okay. Nothing was okay anymore.

The days passed in a sluggish haze. Like confused, half-dead mayflies woken early from their hibernation, they continued living. There was nothing else to do but to put one foot in front of the other and keep on moving forward, although it seemed an almost impossible feat to accomplish at times.

What had happened lay like an unspoken black hole between them, massive in it’s silence. It was only visible in the way Noctis eyes would widen and then dull if he saw or heard something that reminded him of the incident, or if one of them were careless and mentioned something that had something to do with it, like camping, or heat, or rut, or alpha’s, or Prompto’s wounds… It was obvious that Noctis preferred Prompto’s scent and closeness over the two alpha’s. Prompto had feared that Noctis would associate him with the incident and refuse to have anything to do with him, but he didn’t. Although they spoke little, Noctis seemed to enjoy his company nevertheless, and Prompto was grateful for that.

 

\-----

 

It had been about a month when Prompto saw Ignis hand Noctis a small, white box and heard him explain to him that one pill a day would suppress his heats. Prompto knew that suppressants were normally only prescribed under special circumstances, since they were pretty strong in order to suppress heats, but somehow Ignis had gotten ahold of them.

Noctis had bad reactions to the pills at first. At least Prompto assumed it was because of them, and not because… No… He couldn’t even think of the possibility.

 

\-----

 

They were on their way back from a hunt, and as they were in the middle of nowhere, Noctis started getting sick. Prompto stopped and waited for him. He had thrown up just a little while ago. Now he was dragging his feet.

Ignis stopped too and headed back to Noctis.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Just a stomachache...”

“Can you continue?”

“I’m not sure…”

Noctis wrapped his arms around his stomach.

“What’s the hold-up?” Gladio asked.

Prompto hadn’t heard him approach. He’d been far in front of them.

Noctis groaned. He kneeled on the ground.

“Noctis?” Ignis’ voice was sharp with worry. He knelt next to Noctis.

“I… I don’t think I can walk…” Noctis said.

“There’s a haven nearby,” Gladio said. “Just over the ridge there.”

“No…” Noctis whimpered. “No, I can walk, it’s fine…”

He tried to stand, but immediately doubled over. He made a surprised sound.

“What is it?” Ignis was at his side immediately.

“J-just… I felt something…” Noctis blushed. He whispered the rest so softly that Prompto couldn’t hear him.

“Let’s try for the haven,” Ignis said gently. “You know you’re safe with us, Noct. I don’t think even Gladio can carry you all the way to the Regalia.”

Noctis hesitated, but nodded.

Gladio scooped him carefully up into his arms, and the three of them took of at a light jog. They were at the haven in minutes. Ignis hurried Noctis into the tent, while Prompto and Gladio remained outside. Gladio busied himself with making a campfire. Prompto didn’t know what to do. He waited anxiously for Ignis’ verdict.

A little later, Ignis finally came out of the tent. Prompto and Gladio were sitting around the fire. They looked inquiringly at Ignis.

“He’s fine,” he said. He hesitated before he softly added: “He miscarried.”

This was the first time they’d verbally admitted to what they all had suspected and feared. Prompto felt lighter, like he’d shrugged off a burden he wasn’t even aware he was carrying.

“You’re certain about it?”

“Omega’s don’t usually bleed. It’s unlikely that it’s anything else.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s as well as one can expect.”

“But he isn’t badly injured?”

“No, he’ll just need to rest.”

 

\-----

 

Noctis was tired enough to fall asleep in the tent. The others settled down next to him, Ignis closest to him, Prompto next to Ignis, and Gladio next to Prompto.

In the middle of the night, Prompto woke to someone screaming like they were being killed. He sat bolt upright in his sleeping bag, only milliseconds after Gladio did the same thing. It took a moment before he realized that the one who had screamed was Noctis, and that they weren’t being attacked, although Noctis was thrashing around as though he was. Ignis was desperately trying to both calm him and keep him from attacking him. Gladio moved in to intervene, but Ignis stopped him with a sharp command.

“Stay back!” He tried to get ahold of Noctis’ flailing arms. “Noct, Noct… It’s me, Ignis. You’re safe… Shit.” Noctis had managed to elbow him in the shoulder. He wrenched free from Ignis’ grip, and shuffled backwards until he couldn’t come further away from them. He curled in on himself, arms tight around his knees, and started rocking back and forth.

“Prompto,” Ignis said. “I can’t… I’m afraid that as an alpha, my closeness just upsets him more.”

Prompto understood what Ignis was trying to say. He switched places with him so that he was closest to Noctis.

“Hey, Noct, it’s me…”

Noctis kept rocking back and forth like he hadn’t heard him. Prompto needed to find a different way to reach him. He had heard that when someone were in a panicked state like Noctis was now, the best way to reach them was through their senses… and if he couldn’t reach him through sight and hearing…

“Listen, Noct… Can you give me your hand?”

Noctis didn’t move. Prompto reached out and carefully touched Noctis’ hand. When he didn’t pull away, Prompto held his hand tighter.

“Concentrate on my hand,” he said. “You feel my hand, right? It’s real. I’m real. Here…”

He took Noctis hand and led it to his chest, so he could feel his heartbeat. 

“Feel how calm it beats? There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re safe here.”

Noctis moaned softly, but he stopped rocking. Prompto let out a relieved breath.

“Yeah, that’s right, you’re safe, I promise. We’re all here to protect you. Gladio and Ignis too. See? We won’t leave you, we’re here.”

Noctis looked up from his folded arms. He took in their pale faces, lit up by the flickering lantern that hung in the roof of the tent. He looked carefully around, assessing the surroundings with absent eyes.

“See?” Prompto started pointing out things to make Noctis focus on something else but what was happening inside him. Simple things, like a spot on his sleeping bag, or Gladio’s beat up boots, but something Noctis saw must have upset him, because he made a pained sound and curled in on himself again.

“Crap,” Prompto murmured. He turned to Ignis. “I think we need to get away from here.”

Ignis nodded. He and Gladio dressed quickly. It was already dawn, thankfully, so they could travel back to the car safely. Gladio carried Noctis some of the way, but the fresh air and change of scenery made Noctis slowly come back to himself, and soon he walked on his own. He cried every five minutes, and wouldn’t let go of Prompto’s hand, but finally they made it back to the Regalia in one piece. They took in on a hotel, and Noctis didn’t leave the bed for days.

 

\-----

 

Noctis’ day consisted of simple tasks, performed one by one in a set sequence. The first task was to get out of bed. Ignis would nag until Noctis finally got up. When they stayed in a caravan, there was no shower, so those days there were one less task that Ignis needed to pester him into doing. Then there was food. Noctis ate even though everything he put into his mouth tasted like ash. It was mechanical. Routine. Then they went for a hunt, finished the hunt, got paid, ate again, and went to bed.

Easy. Mechanical. Practical.

Required no thinking, no actual participation.

The only thing he needed to focus on, was to exist. That was all he could do for now.

He was only half aware that there were people around him. To him they seemed like indefinable shadows that sometimes crossed his path. He looked upon the rest of the world like someone looking in through the stained showcase of a run-down second-hand shop in downtown Insomnia. With slight contempt and disinterest, wondering where he’d find the way back home. Then he remembered that he had no home anymore, and he felt a pain so deep and vast loom over him, that he had to close his eyes tight and turn away until it receded enough in size that he could ignore it again.

He had to work on that.

Stop thinking about home. About the things that used to be. About anything outside of what he was doing in that exact moment.

No future, no past.

He was getting better and better at it, but every time he thought he had it down pat, he slipped up.

Something reminded him of it, and suddenly he was back there again. The memory could be so intense that it felt like he was there again, that it was all happening to him still, like it had never stopped. In a sense, it never stopped. It kept on coming back to him, again and again and again, until he couldn’t take it anymore. Until the only thing he wished for was for everything to stop.

But then Ignis was there, and Prompto, and Gladio. And Prompto’s voice, telling him what to do, where he was, what to focus on.

And slowly but surely he’d remember that he wasn’t there anymore. He wasn’t. It was over, for now, and he clung to those moments of reprieve with the last feeble threads of his sanity.

One careful step at a time, he balanced on the knife-sharp edge.

Whatever he did he could not look down, or else he’d fall.

One task at time.

Get up, eat, hunt, eat, sleep.

Repeat.

Just don’t look down.

 

\-----

 

Although it went slowly, Noctis showed improvement over time. After a while, slowly but surely, he started peeking out of his shell. He started partaking more in conversations, and seemed more aware of his surroundings.

But he never really forgot. Prompto could see it in the empty looks that showed up out of nowhere, in the way he suddenly could become quiet before he put on a distant smile and pretended to follow the conversation, although he obviously had fallen out of it for a few seconds. Prompto didn’t know what else to do to help him but to stay close to him and show that he was there for support if needed.

He knew that Noctis knew that he was there for him. Sometimes he’d grab his hand and hold it, and Prompto just squeezed it and didn’t let go until Noctis did.

He could see that Noctis found support in Ignis and Gladio too. At times he needed Ignis’ help for the simplest things, like remembering to eat. Prompto was certain he’d have stopped eating if Ignis wasn’t there to physically put the food in his hand. Gladio’s steady, safe presence always seemed to calm Noctis, especially if he was starting to worry and keep an eye on his surroundings. He did that sometimes. Either when he saw something that reminded him of something bad, or when they were in places with a lot of people. Prompto knew why Noctis scanned all the faces that passed them with the skittishness of a deer in headlights. Prompto did the same thing. He wasn’t more eager to meet that… that… monster again than Noctis was, even if it only was in passing. But they never did, and slowly but surely, Noctis grew out of the habit.

Prompto supposed they managed pretty well, all things considered. As long as they were together, they could get through it, no matter what the future had in store for them. Together they were strong enough to put the broken pieces together, to mend the parts that were hurting.

Prompto caressed Noctis’ cheek as they fell asleep next to each other. They were safely cradled between Ignis and Gladio. Noctis had fallen asleep almost immediately. He allowed the others to touch his face and his hands, but nowhere else. Prompto could hear that Gladio and Ignis were asleep. They were breathing calmly and evenly. Prompto loved falling asleep to the sound of his three companions breathing. He realized as he lay there in the darkness of the tent, with the gentle sounds of the wilds around them on a comfortable distance, that he loved these three people more than anything else. While he was with them, he wasn’t afraid of anything, and he knew that Noctis felt the same way. He wouldn’t have slept this calmly if he didn’t. Prompto kissed Noctis’ forehead gently. His lips lingered. Noctis sighed.

“Prompto…”

“Yeah?” Prompto thought Noctis was awake, but when he didn’t answer, he realized he’d spoken in his sleep.

Prompto fumbled around till he found Noctis’ hand and interlocked their fingers. Then he drifted off into a calm, content sleep.

 


End file.
